A Wobbling Moreno Ship? Manager Draws Line on Kim Min-jae’s Boot-Tossing Incident, Citing "Premature Judgment" [Ulsan On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Roberto Moreno (49), manager of the South Korea national football team, drew a line against Kim Min-jae’s (30) deliberate remarks, calling them "premature judgment."

The South Korean men's national football team, led by Manager Moreno, drew 0-0 without scoring in their third match of the four-match series of the 'September–October Hana Bank Invitational National Team Friendly Matches' against Venezuela, held at Ulsan Munsu World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 2nd. With this result, Manager Moreno has recorded one win, one draw, and one loss in his first three matches since taking charge.

On this day, South Korea struggled with a goalless performance, showing a frustrating flow that belied the "all-out attack" tactic announced by Manager Moreno. Throughout the first half, they were pushed back by the opponent's intense pressing, struggling to develop passes, and failed to find an offensive breakthrough, recording their first shot only at the 45th-minute mark.

In the second half, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in attempted shots to launch a counterattack but failed to score. Instead, they narrowly avoided conceding goals, relying on frequent defensive instability, Song Beom-geun’s saves, and luck with the goalposts.

After the match, Manager Moreno stated in a press conference, "It was a difficult game. I am disappointed that we could not bring a victory to the fans." He added, "Defensively, we improved significantly compared to the previous match against Uruguay, but it is disappointing that we failed to create more offensive opportunities."

Regarding the reason for the goalless first half, he explained, "The opponent fielded an unusual and extreme formation with six players up front, employing man-to-man marking, making it difficult to find space." He continued, "After tactical adjustments at halftime, our performance in the second half improved noticeably, but it was not enough to secure a victory."

Addressing criticism that Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in were isolated under intense scrutiny, he drew a line by stating, "I do not agree with that." He defended them, saying, "The players understood their roles well and showed good performance by trying to utilize space."

However, the frustrating atmosphere within the Lee Nal (CEO) team was fully exposed. Kim Min-jae, a key defender who was substituted off in the 40th minute of the second half, was captured on broadcast footage taking off and throwing his football boots from the bench to express dissatisfaction. In a post-match broadcast interview, Kim Min-jae made deliberate remarks, stating, "The whole team needs to fight together and defend, but it is not working well. It is pitiful to see the defenders." He added, "Rather than individuals shining, the entire team must run as one. There is no choice but to bury our heads and work hard."

Manager Moreno defended the player regarding Kim Min-jae’s candid remarks, saying, "As a symbol and leader of the team, he has every right to express disappointment over the draw result." However, he cautioned against over-interpretation, stating, "Since the match has not yet been properly analyzed immediately after the game, it is hasty to evaluate and judge the player’s remarks prematurely."

He strongly rebutted criticism of the monotonous 4-4-2 tactic. Manager Moreno countered, "We respect the fans' criticism, but in reality, we attempted a three-back formation when attacking and a five-back formation when defending, trying to adapt to the opponent's tactics."

He continued, "Right now, we are in the process of building a building floor by floor. It is not right to tear down the entire building just because one match result was poor; rather, we should correct it by fixing the windows and doors," emphasizing that he would gradually supplement the team rather than immediately overturning the system.

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*This content was translated by AI.